Moving away from the traditional style of canvas-on-easel, he used large canvases laid out on his studio floor or attached directly to a wall, and applied paint from several angles using implements such as sticks, knives and basting syringes.

This led to him being christened ‘Jack the Dripper by a famous Time Magazine article in 1956.

Pollock was first introduced to the use of liquid paint in 1936 whilst attending an experimental workshop in New York, held by David Alfaro Siqueiros, and the drip technique found its way into his work during the early 1940s.

He was then further inspired due to his marriage to American painter Lee Krasner in 1945, and the move to a new house and studio (paid for in part with a loan from art collector Peggy Guggenheim).

The main ‘drip period’ of his work lasted from 1947 to 1950, during which he produced his most famous works and achieved a level of both fame and notoriety due to his growing alcoholism.

However, he abandoned the style at the hight of his fame, soon after a famous Life Magazine article in which they asked the question "Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?".

The majority of Pollock's major works are currently on display in museums around the world such as the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art and the Tate Modern.

Artworks

In 1974 the Australian Government purchased the Pollock work ‘Blue Poles’ (1952) for a price of (US)$2 million. At the time it was a world record price for a 20th century artist, and proved controversial in Australia. The painting, currently on display in the National Gallery of Australia, is now recognised as one of Pollocks best and most important pieces and was recently estimated at a value of around (A)$180 million.

In May 2004 the painting ‘Number 12, 1949’ was sold By Christie’s in New York for $11,655,500.

Pollock’s painting ‘No. 5, 1948’ is currently the world’s most expensive painting, after it was sold by David Geffen to an unknown collector in November 2006 for a sum believed to be around $140 million.

In 2010, the piece ‘Number 12a, 1948’ sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York for $8,762,500.